CHESTER RAYMOND MUELLER:

An Inventory of His Arlington, Minnesota Portrait Collection at the Minnesota Historical Society

Sound and Visual Collection

Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Creator: Mueller, Chester Raymond, 1900-1982, photographer.
Title:Arlington, Minnesota portrait collection.
Dates:1939-1968.
Abstract:Portraits of men and women from around the Arlington, Minnesota area taken by Chester Raymond Mueller, a hobby photographer from Arlington. Images include informal portraits of local farmers, laborers, and craftsmen, many in their working clothes.
Quantity:48 photographs : black and white ; 8 x 10 in. and smaller.
Location:I.472 See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Expand/CollapseBIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Chester Raymond Mueller (1900-1982) spent most of his life in Arlington, running a hardware store, farm implement business, and Ford garage which he and his two brothers took over from their father, Charles H. Mueller. The store dated back to 1895, the Ford garage to 1909 (the first Ford dealership in Minnesota).

Chester studied art for a short time in Minneapolis, but the Depression brought him back to the family business in Arlington. Photography was his avocation and his passion. He had to fit photography into a six-day work week, church on Sunday with the family, and two-week summer vacations. His "darkroom" first was in the kitchen: sink for developing, shades pulled tight, enlarger on the kitchen table, a "Stay Out" sign on the door. Later, he moved to a real darkroom in the basement.

His subjects were people he knew, customers who came into the store to buy a few screws, a part for their mower or milking machine, etc.. Chester would often say, "Hey, I have a few snaps still on this roll of film. Would ya step outside and let me take a few of you?" This was the secret for the natural images of locals in their working clothes: no smiles, no self-consciousness. It was a rare request to take an informal portrait, but they trusted Chester.


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Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Mueller, Chester Raymond. Arlington Minnesota Portrait Collection. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: AV2016.43

Processing Information:

Processed by: Allison Neely, June 2016

Catalog ID number: 008646872


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Location
I.472.1Chester R. Mueller, self-portrait, 1947. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Chester R. Mueller, self-portraitDigital version
Location
I.472.2Ted Weckop, circa 1939-circa 1968. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Ted WeckopDigital version
Location
I.472.3Ed Hogan. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.4Otto Sylvester, February 1960. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.5Pete Bergs, June 1955. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.6Grandma Young, May 30, 1939. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Grandma YoungDigital version
Location
I.472.7Dick Wisch. circa 1939-circa 1968. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Dick WischDigital version
Location
I.472.8Jack Boelter, March 1961. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.9Bill Bullert, July 1961. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Bill BullertDigital version
Location
I.472.10Ernst Tabbert. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.11T. P. Skelley, 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.12Louis Schmoll, circa 1940. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.13Unidentified. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.14Ferdinand Meyer. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.15Emil Delzer. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.16John Beseke. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.17Sheriff Fred Thalman. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.18Oskar Altnow. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.19Mr. Erdman, circa 1939-circa 1968. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Mr. ErdmanDigital version
Location
I.472.20T. Sweeney. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.21Dirt farmer, June 1939. 1 photograph: black and white; 7 1/4 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.22Ivan Bullert, September 28, 1968. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.23Albert Paplan, November 1964. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.24John Reinke, June 1955. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.25Isadore Lane. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.26William Berger, July 1954. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.27Mrs. Skelly, circa 1939-circa 1968. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Mrs. SkellyDigital version
Location
I.472.28"Baldy" Grodhong. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 8 3/4 in.
Location
I.472.29Fred Frenzel, March 1961. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.30Otto Bening, April 2, 1964. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.31Oskar Altnow, lumber mill operator. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.32Herman Nickel. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 1/2 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.33Mr. and Mrs. Herb Immel, 50th anniversary. 1 photograph: black and white; 7 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.34Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Buck, 50th wedding anniversary. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.35Mrs. Martin (Dr. Martin's wife). 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.36Henry Meffert, watchmaker, sewing machine repair, locks and keys. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.37Unidentified man, boiler room, canning factory, September 1960. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.38Henry Bening. 1 photograph: black and white; 6 1/2 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.39Gene McCracken, Charles Mueller, Ernest Tabbert, Charley Griffin, Chester R. Mueller, and Hinman Miller, salesman, demonstrates new model to Mueller Bros. Hardware owners, February 1951. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.40Emil Moskop, John Mehlhop, Allie Hilleman, mechanics at Mueller Bros. Garage, March 1942. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.41Herman Bertrang in winter, 1951. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.42Ahle Reddeman. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.43Emil Torry and wife near Arlington, MN. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.44Herman Stahl "Raney". 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.45Emil Delzer, welding shop. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.46Hubert Pinske, realtor and auctioneer. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.47Reverend J. Brodtke, pastor, St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church. 1 photograph: black and white; 8 x 10 in.
Location
I.472.48Arlington, Minnesota. 1 photograph: black and white; 7 x 9 1/2 in.
Time exposure, 12 midnight in winter.

Expand/CollapseCATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:
Portrait photography -- Minnesota -- Arlington -- Photographs.
Document Types:
Photographs.
Portraits.

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